Round Two

After a big win over the Rocky Mountain Rage last night, the Bucks get another tough test this evening with a game against the defending Governor's Cup champion Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs. The Bucks have always owned the 'Bugs in the playoffs, but the regular season has tended to be a different story. We'll see what kind of tone gets set for the season series with tonight's game.

Last night, Coach Ruskowski was obviously impressed by his team's performance, but he expectedly had a few negative things to say, as well. The defensive coverage wasn't exactly what he would like to see, and he said a few guys just weren't stepping up like they need to be.

We should be able to tell a lot about the rookies by how they perform tonight, as keeping focus after such an impressive debut could be a bit difficult. When I talked to Darryl Smith last night, though, he seemed very nonchalant about his hat trick and said that every day is a new one and today the Mudbugs are the only thing he had any intention to think about.

While Smith and his hat trick definitely stole the show, Jason Dixon was surprisingly good, scoring twice and handing out an assist. Smith was on the top of Coach's recruiting list this summer and even got called to an American Hockey League tryout with the Houston Aeros (I wonder if they regretted their decision to cut him when they saw the box score from last night's game!), but Dixon came out and played far better than I think anyone could have expected.

Veteran newcomer Bobby Russell proved himself worthy of his assistant captainship with a great first performance, scoring once and assisting on two of Smith's goals. Russell and Smith are both excellent skaters with impressive speed and great brakes.

And let's not forget Sebastien Centomo, who showed why he is the unquestionable No. 1 goaltender for this team in spite of Coach's penchant for a two-goalie system. Speaking of which, I had forgotten to mention this, but it seems Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees head coach Chris Brooks has decided to keep three goalies on his roster for at least the start of the season. In another interesting move, he will not be handing out a 'C' for the 2008-09 campaign.

Two of the Bucks' Southeast Division rivals will open their seasons tonight, with the Corpus Christi IceRays hosting the Tulsa Oilers and the Bees hosting the Rage.

In other CHL action, the Amarillo Gorillas and New Mexico Scorpions, the Colorado Eagles and Rapid City Rush and the Arizona Sundogs and Odessa Jackalopes will face off in the second half of their two-day doubleheaders, while the Mississippi RiverKings and Texas Brahmas and the Oklahoma City Blazers and Wichita Thunder will open their season series.

It's a busy night in the NHL with the Phoenix Coyotes at the Montreal Canadiens, the New York Islanders at the Florida Panthers, the Buffalo Sabres at the Atlanta Thrashers, the New York Rangers at the Detroit Red Wings, the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Boston Bruins at the Ottawa Senators, the New Jersey Devils at the Washington Capitals, the Minnesota Wild at the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Columbus Blue Jackets at the Nashville Predators, the Chicago Blackhawks at the St. Louis Blues, the Calgary Flames at the Edmonton Oilers and the Philadelphia Flyers at the San Jose Sharks.

The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Dallas Stars 5-4 in today's afternoon game.